Chichester Cinema at New Park
The Life & Works of Richard Wagner
Another opportunity to see this rare German film, the first ever full length “bio-pic” made in 1913 about Wagner, with an added illuminated commentary by Tony Palmer.
Directed by Carl Fröhlich, this was first released on 20th November 1913. It was the first ever ‘bio-pic’, and as such about who else but Wagner? What is extraordinary, however, is that it predates D.W.Griffiths and ‘Birth of a Nation’, usually described as the first ‘long’ silent, at a time when most silents ran for 10 minutes at most.
Fröhlich’s film runs for 90 minutes! Starring Guiseppe Becce as the composer (he later became a distinguished composer himself for almost 100 talkies), and made when Wagner’s widow Cosima was still omnipotent in Germany. This extremely rare film is now presented with English inter-titles, running correctly at 20 frames per second, and an added recorded commentary by Tony Palmer, which is both illuminating and entertaining and was a highlight at the 19th Chichester Film Festival. (Silent with English inter-titles and commentary)
Germany · 1913 · Carl Frohlich · 95min
